


A Stranger In A Strange World

by Allalternate



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Basically just a lot of one shots, I have no idea how tags works, JUST, Multi, Not Beta Read, Not Canon Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Spoilers If you haven't played yet, but it also all works together I guess, but really who hasn't, my sole's experience in fallout so far, uuuh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-01
Updated: 2016-07-01
Packaged: 2018-07-19 08:38:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7353793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Allalternate/pseuds/Allalternate
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Elizabeth was frozen in time for over two hundred years, only to find herself in this dangerous, devastated world, one that had been ravaged by her generation, and now, she is the only one to be able to fix this broken future, and save her son, Shawn.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fire

**Author's Note:**

> Wow so ugh welcome to this... thing. It's probably messy and all, and It's currently 2 a.m. and shits so good luck making sense of it. if you haven't played the game yet, of haven't been hung on your computer all year like I was waiting for it to happen, then you might get lost in the story and all.
> 
> Ps: all chapters are continuously being worked on, it's a WIP, sorry. But I hope it's good!
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

"I woke up one day from the dream, my perfect life, to return to the harsh reality. My whole body was burning, so much it was like my skin had been crippled with needles. For how long I had been frozen, I did not know, and I felt like vomiting. The first thing I heard, even before seeing it, were the cries of Shawn. I felt relieved he was alive, and Nate too when I finally heard his voice though the heavy lid of my caisson. Then suddenly, a loud bang, two people taking my son away, and the face of the devil marked by a moon scar, looking at me, I was powerless. It only happened in a flash, barely long enough for me to fully be aware of what was happening, but I remember. My husband, his body...a few seconds ago still holding our son, now empty, cold as his eyes and his whole body as limb. I went back to sleep, against my will, facing my dead husband and hearing a vicious voice luring me " _At least we still have the backup..._ ".

When I regained consciousness, for me it seemed as if a blink of an eye, but as soon as the lid of my pod opened, and I hit the ground hard, everything was off. For a few seconds there, I could not remember who I was, where I was and what was happening. Then when my eyes stopped on blank, expressionless faces, everything came back to me. I will not lie, when I was in there, I had hoped maybe the cryogenic state had kept him alive, and that I could wake him up, maybe find a medic out there and save his life. So before anything else, that's what motivated me to return to the surface, even though the emergency message telling me to evacuate. It only took me a moment, the time to change in a new suit (not cold and wet) and there I was first met with the radroaches. Fucking insects. You know, they used to be way smaller and less annoying. Anyway, I found a weapon, a 10 mm along with a few other skeletons and a good number of terminals. I remember going through all the other sections, passing in the long alleys of frozen corpses, still in the cryogenic pods. It was horrible, but I did not stop, even to cry once for him. I did it for Nate. Though I made a mental note to come back later and find out more clues to lead me to Shawn. Then, I was out there, and I had to remember to breathe because suddenly everything was too much. The trees, the grass, the sky. It was all dead. I was dead. Then and only then did I cry, but it did not stop me. I was panicking, but it did not stop me. I would not let anything stop me from saving my husband. I reached Sanctuary, it had became a decayed place, so different fro what I had known. I met Codsworth, he questioned me about my family. I discovered that I had been asleep for 200 years. With him, I went back to the vault, and I thought maybe, I don't know, the robot could save him. But I think at some point when I was making my way back, I had understood he was not one of us anymore. So when we opened his pod, I saw not even a drop of blood had been spited and He looked so peaceful, like he was just sleeping. But his body was cold, cold as my hands, not completely awake. I read all the goddamn terminals in the place, at the end I understood that even if he had still been alive, the oxygen alimentation system had failed, and the auxiliary power had by some miracle only spared me. Everyone else was dead. It's unbelievable, even now for me. Christ, I'm shaking just thinking of it...I am the Sole Survivor. I never went back there, ever. This vault was the place when I should have been, dead with the others, and I thought about it you know, has it not been for Shawn. I told myself that if I could not save Him, and at lease I'd save my son. So I went to the next city, Concordia, and that where I met with the crew and Preston. Damn Preston. We fought, my first real fight, with Raiders, and even a deathclaw. Somehow, I'm sure if I had not met them then, I would have neglected myself so much in the search of my son, I would have died. But they taught me one thing I thought I had lost; hope. Hope became my main motivation. I saw in them what I had thought the world had destroyed. _Humanity_. We returned to Sanctuary, I made it a home again. (Thanks to Sturges and his clanging. _All day long_.) that's how I learned the ways of the Wastes, I guess. Fighting your way through it all, live through it all.

Preston was nice, he told me about the Minuteman for which in time I even became the General. I got to explore the surroundings of Sanctuary, established a few settlements, fought a lot of raiders, monsters, ghouls. You know, the usual.

Then, I don't really remember how long after It happened, but I didn't want to get too comfortable, I still had a mission. So some time later, I made my farewells to the group and than I was in my way to Diamond city, where I had been pointed out as a beacon of resources. If I was to did anything about my son, it was there I had to be. So I hit the road that way, preferably during the night, resting during the day. It's easier to hide in the shadows, when there is no light, it's the best.

When I arrived, finally, after two weeks of getting lost and adventuring the commonwealth, I found the oh so expected white arrows directing me to the Gate. I was so happy to see the guards I could've even kiss the goddamn turrets. Then I was met with Piper trying to enter the city, and I even helped her with my exceptional acting skills. Some business about an article she wrote on the Mayor was causing her trouble. In my life, I often had to go to Boston, but only once had I ever visited the stadium. Seeing how much it has changed, and how it had turned into a real beacon of life just made me feel exited, but also... Lonely. It's as if seeing this, how much everything has evolved, made me feel like I did not belong in this world at all anymore. I made some researches, got involved with the Bobrov brothers... And, alright, murdered by accident about three people but hey, it only took me a day to figure out who I had to see to find my son. So a Nick in precarious position, I had to save. But unlike Valentine, I had to ask to know where he was kept. I'm no detective, and I didn't know my way around this new world, so his assistant, Ellie, told me where Skinny Malone had his den. In the end I went to the vault 114, killed lots of triggerman and it all unwrapped in big ol' memories of Skinny and Nick. So I didn't even have to kill the bad guys, I'm that much amazing.

Nick helped me find out who had kidnapped Shawn, a mercenary called Kellogg's. He was a despicable being, a cold blooded murderer, but in the end, me and him were more alike than I like to admit. Heck, I think I might've even ended up like him, had it not been from everyone. So as you already know, I killed the man. And I still think that was all he deserved. Still with Nick then, we wound up at Goodneighbour, much to my ease. I don't know, there's just something about this dark, vibrant and secretive settlement that makes me feel better. I met Hancock, first thing when we passed the gate, and even if I knew it a place of misfits, I felt secure. Old souls and bad guns is the kind I know, even if I'm pretty sweet, this is what I can handle, with a certain liking to it. So with Nick, we went to the Memory Den, convinced the Doc to wire me and Kellogg's' memories. His life was uncomfortably close to mine, and even after living it, I broke in cold sweat. Becoming like him had become my greatest fear, because we are similar to the core. This keeps me awake at night, even now, before even the nightmares have time to settle in.

Then, from now on, you know what happened. I went to the Third Rail, and there you were. Just a young merc, with your 250 caps deal and two goons lurking at you. But I don't regret it you know" she said with monotony in the voice, a smile playing at her lips and tiredness from the traveling. The fire accentuated the bags under her eyes. God what she wouldn't give for a proper bed right now. They had stopped at Hanged man's alley for the night given its closeness to their last location, and both her and MacCready deserved a rest. They had traveled for days around the wasteland, not really knowing where to go, having different things to accomplish then and there. It was a great progress however that they got to do so during daytime, Elizabeth usually preferring to act during nighttime. From where this habit came to her, Maccready didn't know, but he personally didn't like to explore in the night. Somethings too dangerous happens then, creatures that only live to kill you when you can't see them lurk in the shadows. He really isn't a nightbird, and he was much happy to see that she was ready to adapt to him, even just a little. She's a weird person though, in all her dimensions. Asking money this, free giving that, saving a whole settlement then and murdering others there. The struggle of two lives meets in this person. The old, pacific and good hearted one, and the new, cruel and cold blooded one. Unbelievable. "You know, you really should rest for a while boss" said MacCready, because it was obvious that Elizabeth needed sleep. she installed beds and bunks too anyway, new and clean, a little damp from today's rain but oh well. It would do. "You too MacCready", she mumbled in his direction with a small smile, her eyes heavy with fatigue. Then, more seriously, she added "You know, the thing I think I miss most about my old life, is being a family. I miss who I was then. This new world really brings out what I used to despite about myself, but it's the only reasons I'm still alive, I guess. I don't think I have what it takes to continue honouring my life back then, to continue being the good Elizabeth. This new era brings out the monster, and I'm ugly inside. But I think maybe it's for the best" she finished in a whisper. The mercenary long learned that it was useless to answer her rambling, sometimes she only needed to evacuate, and he understood this, even if somethings it was just plain unnerving. The only sounds then being distant battles and the fire around which she and MacCready were seated. Sometimes the chatting from downstairs went up to their ears, but the calm present was good. They didn't knew each other's for so long, but they did get along pretty well. In times they really playfully nagged at each other when they ended up at Diamond city, eating noodles and talking about their combat tactics and prowesses. Nonetheless, over the course of only a few weeks, they fitted each other's pretty well. Back at Hanged Man's Alley, Elizabeth rubbed her eyes and decided that indeed, it was probably time to sleep. "Alright then Mac, I think it's time for me to head to bed" and as said, she left the open room and went up the stairs to her private bedroom. Being a hero sure paid off. "Night then, see you in the morning" he waved at her, barely looking away from the fire. He heard her wish him good night too, and that was it. He stayed there for a couple of minutes later, admiring the architectural work of his boss. Though she repeatedly told him building wasn't her thing, her settlements sure proved the opposite. The the fire was seated right under an open sky, probably to let the smoke out, but which let everyone admire the natural beauty of the stars, while still being warm. Robert remember once Sole had told him that before the war there was so much light pollution that no one in the city, and the suburbs around it, could usually stargaze. He found the idea quite silly, and they had both broke it laugher, sole revealing that yes, it was. With this in mind, Maccready found shelter in his dreams, filled up with stars, blue suits and gunfire.

The next morning, Elizabeth woke up to the sound of metal clanging and thudding, and that's how at first she could at sworn she was at Sanctuary. Unlucky enough was it that she wasn't back home, but still in her temporary bed, at the Hanged Man's settlement. She quickly got up, not feeling it to stay longer on the hard mattress that served as a bed, and was met with the sight of a still asleep Maccready, resting in the couch right next to the stairs. An idea came to her mind, and she left the comics she had recently found. The mercenary had told her once he was quite a fan of those. For some reasons, even if she had to pay him for his companionship, she felt in debt, because so far, Mac had been the only one to put up with her shit so long. The vault dweller doesn't even think Nate would have. But again, if he was still alive, many things would have been different.

MacCready was always complaining about verse things she did, but never when it came to her Jugement, or to her story. He was there to follow her, and she trusted him.

Later, after heading downstairs, eating an earned proper breakfast with Piper and Nick, Sole climbed the ladder to access the rooftop of one of the highest building. If you asked her, the easy access to it was one of the reasons why she had established a settlement here. The view was unbeatable, the sky surrounding Sole and the remains of the city in harmony. From here, we could easily see up to the glowing sea, and at night it was a good perched point to observe all the lights, the settlements. It was even more beautiful with the stars and the illusion of calm and security it gave. Looking down for a few seconds she saw that Mac was awake, and reading the comics she had purposely left at his attention. She returned down to the settlement to join him, maybe discuss their plan for today. However, just as she approached him, she heard the young mercenary mumbling, and peering behind the wall, she saw he was well awake, going though the Unstoppable comics she had left him. Somehow, this dangerous person would turn cute in moment like these, when he thought no one was looking. But of course, Elizabeth was always looking.

 

"You know, I used to be the Silver Shroud. Passionate business with a cute fanatic, and a bunch of bad guys." she said, approaching her friend with jumped and yelped as she made herself known. For a sniper, he wasn't too alert. She seated in the armchair right next to his, pleased of the effect produced and grinning.

MacCready was now red as a tomato, and he quickly pushed himself up in the couch. Well this is going to be interesting.

 


	2. No Rest For The Wicked

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They are drunk fools.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm in love with MacCready because he's a little shit, what a nerd really.

“Wow boss I didn't think you had it in you" he snarled as he sat down in the dark room, in the stroll right next to hers. She harshly slammed her glass on the counter, staggering as she turned to look at him. She squirted her eyes and simply looked at him. After a few seconds she mumbled "what?" And at that Maccready grinned. 

"Well I've never seen you drink before, so I assumed you couldn't hold your alcohol, and you know, I think I was right" he mocked. Sole sighed loudly, rolling her head to the side and clutching the counter to keep herself up. "Well" she got up, leaving the bottle of scotch to Maccready and stumbling to the couch close to the door. The vault dweller loudly let herself fall in the cushions, landing with a groan. She stared in the distance "I'm not one of those" she groaned, and Maccready chuckled. He flopped next her on the red couch, bottle of alcohol in hand and for a moment they just both sat there in silence. The mercenary took a look around him, observing the state of decay of the place and wondering what it had been like before. He didn't like to think about it, but in the presence of the sole survivor, it was inevitable. He hated that this only made things harder for her, made her suffer. He wondered what it felt like to be from another time, yet everything seeming like it's an other world. He wondered what it was like to carry the weight of the past, and not figuratively. He had so many questions, it burned him to just ask. But there are too many scars already, too many creases in her skin, her eyes too wide and her hands too crisped for him to dare. She looked like she was barely able to breath but she was always so calm, too calm. Today, now, she had that nostalgia that glints regrets. Maccready was sure that if he looked at her eyes in eyes, him too could be part of this world only she can see. The vault dweller didn't look as dangerous and fragile as usual; she had drank too much for sure. "You're tired" he commented, and she answered without looking at him "that's my face 24 hours Mac 'surprised you didn't get used to it" 

"Oh I see we didn't tone down the sass"

She hummed in respond, the silence returned, but was interrupted by Maccready's question

"what's up with the scars?" He didn't have time to think about it, or an explanation to his curiosity when she turned to look at him confusedly. 

"Well I mean, they're pretty obvious so I guess they come with a story right?" He quickly said, not totally sure of what he was thinking when he asked in the first place. But the vault dweller didn't seems to mind the question so much, to Maccready's relief. Elizabeth brought her hand up to where the skin had been marked, multiple gashes across her face, from her left cheekbone to her chin. When her finger entered in contact with the scars, her touch was delicate and something changed in her expression. It was dark in the ancient vault dweller's house, no additional light but those of the candles lit around the place, but the mercenary still had discerned the shift in expression, even if it wasn't long enough for him to put his finger on it. It was gone in a moment however, just to be replaced by a smirk of triumph, Elizabeth back to her usual self. 

"A gift, from my first day in the commonwealth." She let it hang in the silence, giving her companion a chance to change subject. He did not. 

"And? Come on now, you can't just give me half of the answer boss, that's not how you do things"

"Yeah well" she started, shifting in her seat to face him "you'd be surprised" she finished with a smug smile, or what she thought looked like a smug smile, slightly leaning forward as to accentuate the effect. It only made Maccready laugh.

"You are so drunk"

"Oh my god Jesus Maccready shut up and drink yourself" she wined as she took the bottle of scotch from his hands just to shove it back at him. "Alright I'll tell you my story" 

The companion drank from the bottle as she gathered her thoughts, waiting for the storytelling.

"So I was there before the bombs. I mean, obviously, but..." She sighed and squeezed her eyes shut, only reopening them once she was ready to speak again. But she didn't yet open her mouth.

"Take your time. I mean it" he told her as he began to drink from the bottle. 

She smiled at him, her eyes cautious and watery as she resumed her talking, more confident this time: "Yeah, I know. So I was there before the bombs fell, and I had every reasons in the world to be happy. Nate retired from the army, I had a son whom I loved... Love. And I was a top student, about to finishing my terms. There was a lot happening altogether though, but I was... Just, really happy. Things were going so well, maybe too well. I don't know, but that gave a cue for destiny to majorly FUCK UP" she had yelled her last words, gesticulating her hands in the air frantically. It startled Maccready, but he didn't stop her. 

"Total death annihilation, genocides, nuclear war, you name it. It all fell at once over our heads. I can't even remember what started it all, what kind of everyday basic conflict could have triggered the most important war in the world. But I remember the fear" she said almost in a whisper, rubbing her eyes heavy with sleep. "I don't understand... I was terrified. That Nate would be sent away again, that he would die, I was terrified at the idea of loosing him to the war, because it seemed to follow him wherever he went. But we were safe.... Until war followed him back home." Her voice broke as she ended her sentence, and Maccready could see just how roughed she was. Uncomfortable, the mercenary shifted next to her, and the vault dweller flinched, as if she had forgotten he had been there with her all this time. She had barely even told him anything interesting, her words close to a mumble in the silence, yet he had listened, he had understood. Her eyes were full of emotions he remember feeling, but hoped to forget. Her face looked very pale in the dim lights, the scars so red and suddenly it all seemed so fresh, so raw. Those scars she wore are like a shield, a mask to blend into this living hell, to hide amongst the monsters. But the wastelander wanted to look past those defences, behind the skin, under the facade. Like this, anyone would think she is fragile, breakable, even vulnerable. But Maccready could feel it; she is a ductile, bendable metal. Her mind and will is too strong to be affected by this corrosive world. But her eyes were telling another story. Maccready was wrong as the reasons why she needed it, thinks it was sadness, but he reached for her anyway, pulling his friend in his arms. Elizabeth let herself be moved by Maccready's embrace, at first it made her bend in an uncomfortable angle, but then she settled for letting her head rest on his torso while her shoeless feet were now taking the space on the couch where she was seconds ago. In a way, she returned the mercenary's embrace, hugging him with all her might and strength. Maccready was gently rubbing her back, trying to soothe away whatever demons were eating her from the inside. 

And just like that, they both fell asleep on the couch.

The next day, when Maccready woke up with back pain and numb legs, he found his sole survivor still in the same way he had seen her the day before, except the lower half of her body was already on the floor. He had to admit, they had fallen asleep pretty drunk and in a very particular posture, so seeing the vault dweller like that wasn't surprising, but it still made him laugh, not too loud though, careful not to wake up Elizabeth. He wasn't strong enough to lift her up to her bed, the woman being taller, and the mercenary was definitely not the buffiest guy in town. Or the next one.

He carefully pulled himself from under the sole survivor, and honestly he was surprised that it didn't wake her up. She steered in her sleep, but never opened her eyes, and her breathing was still slow and deep, so she was definitely asleep. Her companion took a scruffy blanket from her bedroom and decided to just let her rest. The commonwealth could wait another day to be saved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The rest of this is gonna be HARSh, people are going to die because we all know how much of an asshole the wasteland actually is, and how much destiny fucks up in these games.


	3. Describing A Ghost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter helped me getting a feel of how to write a school assignment, which involved a lot of descriptive sequences. I usually write too much, but this time it was fun!
> 
> Anyhow, enjoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also sorry for my english, as you might have noticed, it's definitely not my fist language, but I think I manage well...

People were talking, and a lot of things had been said. When she stayed too long at one place, dribbles came from there and here to her ears, and that's when she knew it was time to move, be forgotten for a little while. Not that she minded the attention really, she would be lying if she said she didn't like to be "important". But there's so much one can get noticed in the commonwealth before it becomes dangerous, and she tended to reach that point. Sole survivor of the vault one eleven: the big headline. It was told that her legendary scars were given when she fought against a deathclaw, barehanded while you're at it. Don't get fooled by her charming smiles and quirky manners; she is a fierce killer. The vault dweller in all her splendour even defeated more than one courser, and all that in the hope of finding her son. Bless her. Apparently, she mingles with bandits and criminals, enrolled with the railroad, became the general of the Minutemen and a great brotherhood knight.

Elizabeth had to admit, some of these rumours were rather flattering. She was proud of who she had became for the commonwealth, and it was without surprise that when she seated with deacon that evening, he had told her about every rumours making the great legend she was becoming.

When she was traveling around, it usually took one glance from strangers for them to understand who she was, but it never quite made the effect as when she said it out loud. It made her smile, the way people's faces suddenly turned wide eyed as they held their breath. She was enjoying herself when they looked like they seen a ghost. But nothing beats when she can see the shudder run through them, the hair on the back on their neck stand up, their pupils blown wide. 

She remembers the beginning, when she was nothing, being the one struggling to even just breathe in this new, foreign world. Sanctuary was the only place she still had, a remnant of her old self. But then, through the radio, throughout the roads, she heard the whispers of her accession, even before anyone knew a ghost had been awoken, she knew the commonwealth felt this new force rising from a mountain hiding too many secrets and who stole too many lives, there her rise began. Where death had been consumed, life shun again upon the beginning of a new day, a woman, a fury bringing hope. 

She is the sole survivor. Not only of the vault one eleven, but of the war, of the hatred of humans, of the forgotten past. She is the sole survivor.

She is a stranger in a strange world; always good mannered but with strong words, a golden heart but a ruthless spirit to match the ways of the wasteland. She was not one to fool with, and that had been made clear by those who tried; their bodies were never found. The best description of her ever made, was also a metaphor of her fellow railroad companion. Deacon had said; "the sole survivor is clearly a fish out of the water. That is, at first look. Then, when you get closer, you realize it's not really a fish, more like a shark, and it's not out of water. When you stare long enough, it feels like it's you, trying to swim in the stormy ocean but then you see the shark, and you just know it's the end."

In a reply, she had laughed, but it was the truth. Nothing more dangerous was yet to exist than her. She was a trap, a fraud, looking all fragile and innocent. But then the mere meaning of her existence hits you like a truck. And that's how the sole survivor made her way to the heart of the wasteland, conquering and rebuilding, creating, decimating. She had the future of the commonwealth in her hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Perfect clean cut hair, face marred of scars that makes her well known all around the commonwealth and a perfectly pressed general uniform: that's what made her who she is. Her weapon, before even being a sniper rifle or a 44. Pistol was her presence. When she went somewhere, it was impossible to not know who she is. From south to north everyone had learned to respect and fear her, the sole survivor. She was two sides of the same coin: never letting her guard down, easily adapting and changing, not herself, but the people around her. She was a force of nature, transforming the commonwealth, and she was proud.


	4. All Hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick one, probably going to continue editing.

There were days like these in which the whole commonwealth seemed to agree for a day of rest; those days were peaceful, easy, relaxing. That's when they could easily go around holding hands, not caring too much about the guns, kiss there and here, going around town and through the settlements slowly and carelessly joking about the most mundane things, not worrying if they make too much noise.

And then there were days where all hell broke lose on them; super mutants, Gouls, deathclaws, synths and raider all alike. Those are the days when Maccready couldn't rest at night. His mind was running again and again trough the memories of that night at the metro station when he lost her, enhancing his fear of loosing the sole survivor. He cling close to them, held their hands tighter when he wasn't gripping at his gun, aiming at the enemies running to them. The commonwealth is a dangerous place, because it makes you feel good, then rips everything apart from you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How in the goddamn hell they ended up here, on the Pridewyn, was a mess. Usually when you whole life turns to shit, you can trace it all down to one stupid but simple decision. This one had been made by Sole, as she had, one morning, let Maccready know they were to go to Boston Airport. Something big, very big and flying above it had cough her eye, as she was not one to let go. So that morning, it all had begun with the ordinary "G'mornin" and "how're you" when suddenly, in the middle of a perfect breakfast, Sole brought up the subject. She showed her map to Mac, telling him where they were to go, and he had simply frozen in terror. Past the stupor, he wouldn't stop complaining about how stupid meeting with the BOS, and he had to explain to Sole who they were, was, how suicidal and crazy of an idea it was. In the end however, as he knew her mind rock hard and changing, he gave in, simply ending it with "these guys, well they don't play with a full deck. We should be careful", and as f that had been enough, she seemed to understand. But of course it did not stop her from going anyway. So there they were, walking along the bay, muddy boots and once the mercenary even fell into the waters, grunting "I hate getting wet" which was answered by the Sole's laugher. She lend him dry clothes for today, and they were back on their road. It took them approximately a week, starting from hanged man's Halley, down to the airport to get there. And of course, they got lost quite a bit. Sole insisted that they kept going during the night, but the merc wouldn't hear it. The night is for the rest, he had once told her. After being attacked more than once in the blind darkness, he knew what he was talking about. But she insisted that is was more dangerous staying in place for a long time in the wasteland. He replied "not if we secure the place first" and some other sarcastic remarks only he could think about. 
> 
> Meanwhile, Sole never once shut up about her story. Everything she had lived so far had been so incredible and new for her, she never considered that for her companion, it was all everyday jobs. But sometimes, even if it was just talking about he rescue missions, or the construction of a new settlement, she rambled with such enthusiasm and sparkle, maccready didn't have it to stop her. "Oh! Have I ever told you about the time I was the Silver Shroud?! It was awesome. I got to beat up bad guys and I saved Kent. You know, the goul guy at Memory Den. AND I dismantled a gang of goddamn idiots playing gangsters!!" At that, Maccready bursted into laughter. "You know I was there with you the whole time right?" He explained.  
> She looked everywhere but at him, her cheeks red and very embarrassed. She hated making herself ridiculous. "Oh really?" While laying back and pulling his cap on his face, ready to rest of for a few minutes, he replied "of course I was there. You were wearing that ridiculous costume, taking the shroud's tone. I'd better we'd been Gorgnak the barbarian". He was obviously mocking her, so she squirted her eyes at him. "Oh REALLY? Well then why not be just THAT" she said as she threw at him the barbarian's costume. An original she had found while scavenging Hubris comics a few weeks prior.
> 
> MacCready wasn’t laughing at all, his face went blank and he gripped the costume in both hands. This had been the subject of so many of his dreams, he loved the Barbarian as much as the money itself. Though he wasn’t ever about to let it show in front of her. “We could get a good prize for this!” he quickly managed, but wishing that she wouldn’t agree.
> 
> “Not before you tried it on” she smirked, her eyes sparkling and the devil’s grin illuminating her features.

**Author's Note:**

> So how was it?? 
> 
> Oh, It's bad isn't it.  
> I mean, you're still alive and all, but really, was it okay?


End file.
